Official ANet Q&A With 10 Questions About The Lore Of Guild Wars 2 For YOUR Roleplay

[Vetkin.6041]

Hey there,

my name's Fabi and I'm a member of the german roleplay community of guild wars 2.

Today I have something very special for you!

I had the opportunity to interview the ANet narrative team and was able to ask 10 questions about the guild wars 2 lore that may help some of you for your personal roleplay. We wanted to fill gaps and ask things that partially were on our mind for ages. So together, we collected our questions and voted for the 10 best ones to send to ANet. I thought, this would most likely interest you guys here aswell, hence the post.

A big, big thank you to Justin and the narrative team for making this possible - and thanks for caring so much about us roleplayers. We really, really appreciate it! ❤️

(Please note that I received the interview via a .docx document so to make things easier for you, I screenshotted the document and uploaded the images into an album. Furthermore, I'm somehow not able to upload images directly to this post. On the official german forums it works. But regardless, it's just one click for you all 🙂)

 

Link (Imgur album) to the interview

Edited May 6, 2021 by Vetkin.6041

[Dracyon Imperius.6309]

Most of the questions I think could have led to some very interesting answers, but most of what has been given is in fact... very evasive.

 

For instance, there isn't a single word about how organized religion fares in human society, and this constantly underexplored topic (we know next to nothing about the clergy, its structures, its influence and power, its heads) is likely going to remain dead... basically forever, which is a shame. Nothing new on horses, so hopefully it's because they're working on something, but if they're not, this is just playing coy.

 

But what really annoys me as a human roleplayer is the fact that we still don't know much about the Ministry, after all this time. It's hard to find out how ministers are chosen, we have no idea how laws are proposed, whether or not there are committees, how power is gained and lost, all we know is that it is a nebulous, often corrupt entity that serves as a punching bag throughout the story, and now we're told that it's still alive and well, but without any details as to what changed or stayed the same. I'm tired of roleplayers being left in limbo everytime the devs decide to pump out a story without giving us any lore updates. Small lore articles to update us on the website, for instance, would be a good way to communicate information; I don't begrudge devs for not putting it ingame if it's hard to implement organically, but leaving roleplayers to systematically pick up the slack because they won't give us detailed lore is getting on my nerves. 90% of roleplaying lore on magic is guesswork already.

[Plagiarised.2865]

This was a great read! Thank you for putting it her for the non-german readers 😀

[Fire Attunement.9835]

Thanks for sharing this with the community. The narrative team had a lot of fun answering your questions!

[anninke.7469]

Ah, great. Another Almorra/Jhavi/Vigil talk completely ignoring Laranthir's existence... Hey, the guy didn't just evaporate after HoT, narrative folks.

[Mega.5791]

Here again, thanks for the effort! ☺️

 

On 5/8/2021 at 3:38 AM, Dracyon Imperius.6309 said:

Most of the questions I think could have led to some very interesting answers, but most of what has been given is in fact... very evasive.

 

For instance, there isn't a single word about how organized religion fares in human society, and this constantly underexplored topic (we know next to nothing about the clergy, its structures, its influence and power, its heads) is likely going to remain dead... basically forever, which is a shame. Nothing new on horses, so hopefully it's because they're working on something, but if they're not, this is just playing coy.

 

But what really annoys me as a human roleplayer is the fact that we still don't know much about the Ministry, after all this time. It's hard to find out how ministers are chosen, we have no idea how laws are proposed, whether or not there are committees, how power is gained and lost, all we know is that it is a nebulous, often corrupt entity that serves as a punching bag throughout the story, and now we're told that it's still alive and well, but without any details as to what changed or stayed the same. I'm tired of roleplayers being left in limbo everytime the devs decide to pump out a story without giving us any lore updates. Small lore articles to update us on the website, for instance, would be a good way to communicate information; I don't begrudge devs for not putting it ingame if it's hard to implement organically, but leaving roleplayers to systematically pick up the slack because they won't give us detailed lore is getting on my nerves. 90% of roleplaying lore on magic is guesswork already.

I absolutely agree with you for the most part. The answers are lackluster and there was basically no new content which couldn't be derived before already. As one of the members of the German RP-community, I was rather disappointed - even considering I didn't have the highest hopes before. "The ministry didn't really change at all"? Honestly? After all the headhunting and rebellion happening? Jennah didn't reform anything, even considering the poor state of the government when it comes to participation, equality and conflicts between rich and poor? That is just lazy writing.

 

However, we do have some small tidbits on the ministry, for example how laws are proposed and how to get into the ministry and how the Seraph are deployed. Now I don't know how much the Narrative team knows about those little discussions anymore, but a summary is found on the wiki: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ministry. I did not check all of the sources and the literature content is lacking, but what I double-checked is valid.

 

Don't know if you knew these things already (you are still right we don't know anything about details), maybe someone else can use this.

 

I am leaving with a sarcastic "rp whatever you want".

[HotDelirium.7984]

The complete dismissal of the Malyck question saddens me. If he's in EOD then great but if not its very disappointing that were this far into the game without even an acknowledgment of him or what happened to him. I would have even accepted a throwaway line that he died in HOT. Doing these things adds up to erode our confidence in the narrative team(s). What is a priority to the players might not be for ANET and I get that but if no plans are ever to bring him back then at least acknowledge him by validating us.

[HotDelirium.7984]

On 5/14/2021 at 5:48 AM, anninke.7469 said:

Ah, great. Another Almorra/Jhavi/Vigil talk completely ignoring Laranthir's existence... Hey, the guy didn't just evaporate after HoT, narrative folks.

It does give us pause that we still have no official update on Zojja either. IF Canach could be recast then surely they can be too?

[Adamixos.6785]

On 5/16/2021 at 4:13 PM, HotDelirium.7984 said:

The complete dismissal of the Malyck question saddens me. If he's in EOD then great but if not its very disappointing that were this far into the game without even an acknowledgment of him or what happened to him. I would have even accepted a throwaway line that he died in HOT. Doing these things adds up to erode our confidence in the narrative team(s). What is a priority to the players might not be for ANET and I get that but if no plans are ever to bring him back then at least acknowledge him by validating us.

Pretty sure it's company policy to deflect all questions about plot holes. 🙃

[Urud.4925]

On 5/14/2021 at 2:48 PM, anninke.7469 said:

Ah, great. Another Almorra/Jhavi/Vigil talk completely ignoring Laranthir's existence... Hey, the guy didn't just evaporate after HoT, narrative folks.

Yep, I was also wondering why Laranthir disappeared, without that anyone shared some news about him. When

Spoiler

Smodur died 

they asked who was the second in command (Ok, she was too far, so fair decision. At least we understood). But nothing about Laranthir. I'm worried for him!

Maybe he has been demoted for saying "Stun the creature" :/

 

(As Grand Warmaster, he is the Vigil's second-in-command, tasked with taking leadership of the order in the event of General Soulkeeper's death)

Edited May 21, 2021 by Urud.4925

[Relifed.1475]

On 5/14/2021 at 2:48 PM, anninke.7469 said:

Ah, great. Another Almorra/Jhavi/Vigil talk completely ignoring Laranthir's existence... Hey, the guy didn't just evaporate after HoT, narrative folks.

 

18 hours ago, Urud.4925 said:

Yep, I was also wondering why Laranthir disappeared, without that anyone shared some news about him. When

  Hide contents

Smodur died 

they asked who was the second in command (Ok, she was too far, so fair decision. At least we understood). But nothing about Laranthir. I'm worried for him!

Maybe he has been demoted for saying "Stun the creature" 😕

 

(As Grand Warmaster, he is the Vigil's second-in-command, tasked with taking leadership of the order in the event of General Soulkeeper's death)

 

He's been touched upon twice during the Icebrood Saga, first in a note in Bjora, and then in the Gendarran Fields Response mission:

Bjora: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/OFFICIAL_CORRESPONDENCE_RE:_LARANTHIR

Quote

Following our victories on Dragonfall, Grand Warmaster Laranthir has submitted a request for a temporary leave of absence so he may return to the Grove.

It is my personal recommendation that he be granted this request, and he be allowed to return to Vigil duties at his discretion.

Laranthir has proven a strong and capable leader of our order, his instincts unimpeachable, and my trust in him unshakable.

He will be missed by the Vigil, but we expect Laranthir will return to his post in due time. Until that happens, I will work with Jhavi to ensure she is prepared for her new responsibilities as my second-in-command.

— Soulkeeper

Gendarran: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Dragon_Response_Mission:_Gendarran_Fields

Quote

Jhavi Jorasdottir: After Drakkar, I needed to get away from the Marches. I went on a tour of Vigil encampments around Tyria.
Jhavi Jorasdottir: Mostly a morale thing. I figured Laranthir would've come back by now. He hasn't.
Jhavi Jorasdottir: Never thought I'd be in charge for this long. But the days keep passing and here I am. So I'm getting used to it.

 

 

Personally I feel like this was simply done to give an excuse as to allow Jhavi to be a part of the Icebrood Saga, allowing them to focus more on her than on Laranthir. Perhaps they would've had some more explanation for it if the season didn't get cut short, but I'm at least hoping for future content to have him return.

 

Aside from that I also feel like Anet's response in this interview points at them actually recognizing the fact that he is supposed to become general of the Vigil without outright saying it. (would make sense that they'd want to reserve that for something ingame, not just say in a 'random' interview)

[Urud.4925]

Thanks a lot @ReLiFeD.7418! I totally missed that official correspondence about Laranthir. I cannot give you the "helpful" anymore, so... Thanks!

[HotDelirium.7984]

On 5/22/2021 at 9:07 AM, ReLiFeD.7418 said:

 

 

He's been touched upon twice during the Icebrood Saga, first in a note in Bjora, and then in the Gendarran Fields Response mission:

Bjora: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/OFFICIAL_CORRESPONDENCE_RE:_LARANTHIR

Gendarran: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Dragon_Response_Mission:_Gendarran_Fields

 

 

Personally I feel like this was simply done to give an excuse as to allow Jhavi to be a part of the Icebrood Saga, allowing them to focus more on her than on Laranthir. Perhaps they would've had some more explanation for it if the season didn't get cut short, but I'm at least hoping for future content to have him return.

 

Aside from that I also feel like Anet's response in this interview points at them actually recognizing the fact that he is supposed to become general of the Vigil without outright saying it. (would make sense that they'd want to reserve that for something ingame, not just say in a 'random' interview)

Pure speculation but I wonder if, to a degree, the plot of the story is influenced, even if its just a tiny bit, by the availability of voice actors + the priorities of the current narrative team.

[Konig Des Todes.2086]

18 hours ago, HotDelirium.7984 said:

Pure speculation but I wonder if, to a degree, the plot of the story is influenced, even if its just a tiny bit, by the availability of voice actors + the priorities of the current narrative team.

Characters can show up without any voiced dialogue, e.g., Canach's presence in Dragonfall. Though I imagine Laranthir's presence would require voiced lines.

But given they've replaced so many characters' VA by now (Rox, charr PCs both male and female, and I think Canach most recently), Laranthir has such a minor role and has been gone for a few years that simply finding another VA would be fine. Same with Zojja tbh...

[Tyson.5160]

On 5/13/2021 at 10:17 AM, Fire Attunement.9835 said:

Thanks for sharing this with the community. The narrative team had a lot of fun answering your questions!

Will Anet provide another opportunity for Lore questions in the future, much like those forums posts back in the day?

[Kossage.9072]

On 5/8/2021 at 4:38 AM, Dracyon Imperius.6309 said:

For instance, there isn't a single word about how organized religion fares in human society, and this constantly underexplored topic (we know next to nothing about the clergy, its structures, its influence and power, its heads) is likely going to remain dead... basically forever, which is a shame. Nothing new on horses, so hopefully it's because they're working on something, but if they're not, this is just playing coy.

 

We've had some conflicting answers from the Narrative Team regarding religion over time. Here are a few replies I could find on short notice from a time before PoF:

 

Quote

 

Q: Are the Gods still worshipped with the same intensity as in GW1?

Angel McCoy: They are not. When the gods withdrew, many humans saw it as a betrayal, as if the gods were abandoning them to the dragons. More than a few humans turned away from their worship as a result. There are those at the other extreme as well, those who think that all they need to do is worship harder to entice the gods to return.

The grand majority of the human population falls somewhere between these two extremes. Only the most ancient of humans (who have magical longevity) have lived more than 250 years and have seen a god or avatar face-to-face. 99% of the population has not. Thus, the “fact” that gods once walked among humans is quickly taking on the characteristics of myth. Some even disbelieve that it actually happened and blame reports of such incidences on mass hallucination or wine. (Source)

 

 

Quote

 

Q: Will the gods return some day to Tyria?

Ree Soesbee: The humans still worship their Six Gods with devotion, despite the fact that the gods no longer take an active hand in the destiny of Tyria. Have they truly left? Are they watching, but choosing not to directly answer prayers? These are questions that the people of Divinity’s Reach struggle with on a daily basis. Only the gods themselves know the true answer -- to their questions, and yours. (Source)

 

 

As for the hierarchy of the clergy, we did get some clues during Season 3's Episode 6 One Path Ends where Taimi mentions that the highest ranked priests (high priests) are found at the DR Royal Palace's Shrine of the Six. Sadly we don't know the high priests' names, but their genders might be known to us assuming that the six priests/priestesses (who give us speed boons) found at the Shrine of the Six are in fact the high priests of their respective churches of this Krytan branch. So in that case we'd have (or had depending on if any of them have been succeeded since the Elona crisis) High Priests of Dwayna, Grenth, and Balthazar; and High Priestesses of Kormir, Lyssa, and Melandru. 🙂

 

Taimi: But! The highest ranked priests are in the palace temple. And those Reachers owe you big-time! You saved the city! (Source)

 

On 5/15/2021 at 3:49 PM, Megametzler.5729 said:

Here again, thanks for the effort! ☺️

 

I absolutely agree with you for the most part. The answers are lackluster and there was basically no new content which couldn't be derived before already. As one of the members of the German RP-community, I was rather disappointed - even considering I didn't have the highest hopes before. "The ministry didn't really change at all"? Honestly? After all the headhunting and rebellion happening? Jennah didn't reform anything, even considering the poor state of the government when it comes to participation, equality and conflicts between rich and poor? That is just lazy writing.

 

However, we do have some small tidbits on the ministry, for example how laws are proposed and how to get into the ministry and how the Seraph are deployed. Now I don't know how much the Narrative team knows about those little discussions anymore, but a summary is found on the wiki: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ministry. I did not check all of the sources and the literature content is lacking, but what I double-checked is valid.

Sadly many of the wiki's lore articles are still works in progress, but players are slowly expand them as time allows. It just requires diving deep for lore in obscure dev interviews from now archived sites, devs' reddit/forum comments, and mentions by various NPCs in ambient dialogues and in mission texts, so finding all that info and writing it down on the wiki can be a time-consuming process. But it's also fun seeking these "lost" snippets of lore and bringing them to the forefront.🙂

As for the Ministry's state since the White Mantle crisis, we do learn a few things during Season 3 and PoF.

 

BELOW THERE BE SPOILERS!

 

Countess Anise: Well, the Ministry Guard is dousing them. Talk to Legate Minister Wi about their bail. (Source)

 

Lord Faren: Heading for the desert, Commander? Swordmaster Faren, Lord of Beetletun, is ready! Let chaos-bringers and quaggan-kickers alike beware! (Source)

 

Based on these little snippets, Minister Wi succeeded Caudecus as Legate Minister. Likewise, Faren became the new Lord of Beetletun since Caudecus's bloodline died with Demmi Beetlestone and because Minister Wi's wife Lady Wi (who was cousin to Demmi's mom, Lady Beetlestone) apparently didn't want to stake a claim at the manor for whatever reason (maybe as a cousin she'd be too distant a relative. Alternatively, getting the mansion when her husband had already become the highest ranked minister in the realm might've been viewed as the queen's favoritism by the rest of the Ministry after their daughter Valette's treacherous actions, so Jennah and Lady Wi wanted to play it safe politically speaking.

 

Based on these promotions, it seems Jennah was ensuring that at least some people loyal to her would be granted prominent seats in her reformed Ministry even if she couldn't or wouldn't change the roster entirely after rooting out White Mantle moles and sympathizers. With folks like Lord Faren and Legate Minister Wi continuing the work of the late, loyal Minister Arton, Jennah is securing her power base via leveraging Caudecus's fall. Obviously she hasn't held on to her "emergency law" of suspending the Ministry in Season 3 as that was a mere ploy to lure the White Mantle to reveal themselves, but based on the lore interview in this thread it appears many of the scheming ministers (who either weren't White Mantle stooges or at least were clever enough to conceal their allegiances) still remain at large for potential future plots. 🙂

 

In fact, depending on whether the Narrative Team decides to revisit Marjory's origin story, there might still be at least one clearly evil minister (who is involved in blood sacrifices and murders of children via corrupt Ministry Guard to silence the truth) out there ploting with their sinister cabal. Back in the day narrative dev Scott McGough stated that the mystery surrounding Mendel's murder would be resolved so Jory could finally finish her first case and bring the responsible minister to justice. The culprits might've originally been intended to be White Mantle, but even if that were the case, the current devs could easily tweak the idea a bit and involve this mysterious minister in the workings of some other sinister faction instead. It could possibly involve the returned Cult of Verata if they want to explore that rogue necromancer's fate (and how that mystery could even tie to Riot Alice's conspiracy and whatever she's up to these days after vanishing from the town of Prosperity, the odd timing of the Great Collapse and how Shining Blade knew to be present before the quakes happened, and how the collapsed section was built atop a cavernous area containing ancient human tombs from long before DR's founding, plus those weird noises coming from the sewers).